Tech News: Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Injunction, Google Inc (GOOG)’s Exclusive Rights & Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Court reverses Apple, Samsung ruling (ITWeb)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics do not have to make public the financial details submitted to a US court during high-profile patent litigation, a federal appeals panel ruled on Friday. The Federal US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington reversed a lower court ruling that ordered the companies to disclose portions of documents that contain profit and sales information. “We recognise the importance of protecting the public’s interest in judicial proceedings and of facilitating its understanding of those proceedings,” the three-judge appeals panel decided. “That interest, however, does not extend to mere curiosity about the parties’ confidential information where that information is not central to a decision on the merits.”

Microsoft’s stock slumped under Ballmer (LasVegasSun)
When Steve Ballmer took over as CEO in January 2000, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the titan of tech and the world’s most valuable company. My, how things have changed. In the 13 years since Bill Gates handed over the CEO spot, the technology landscape has seen seismic shifts. The Internet bubble popped, erasing paper fortunes built on dot.com companies. Apple’s iPods, iPhones and iPads became ubiquitous. Google became a verb. And Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) turned social networking into something you do by yourself, instead of surrounded by people at happy hour.

Facebook, Google Cannot Flout Indian Law, Says Court (SiliconIndia)
The Delhi High Court Friday said that social networking site Facebook Inc and search engine Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) are bound by the rules of this country and cannot flout the law just because they are foreign companies. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru also directed the two companies to display on their websites the name and contact details of their grievance officers. “We direct Google Inc and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to display the name of grievance officer on their respective sites. We also direct other intermediaries that the compliance (of the rules) be done in two weeks,” the court said.